Dhaka February 25 2025:
A two-day long (24 – 25 February 2025) conference titled ‘Recommendations by the Task Force on Re-Strategising the Economy’ organized by Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) ended at a city hotel on Tuesday.
The Task Force recommended restructuring Bangladesh’s economy to promote equitable and sustainable development.
Experts during the second day session emphasized on a comprehensive re-evaluation of Bangladesh’s economic strategies to address current challenges.
In the closing session, during keynote presentation, Dr Syed Akhtar Mahmood, Member, Task Force on Re-Strategising the Economy emphasised on economic governance which is focused on four core agendas.
They are attracting investments, enhancing competition in the market, providing incentives to businesses and regulating business activities of the country.
The task force recommended streamlining investment promotion functions and establishing Bangladesh Investment Development Authority as the core agency for promoting business sectors of the country.
Second recommendation was for making the incentive from the government more effective through performance monitoring and continuous evaluation.
Third recommendation was to modernize the regulatory framework by establishing a regulatory reform commission and enhance systematic approaches rather than ad hoc solutions.
Fourth one was understanding market dynamics better and enhancing competition and downsizing syndication in the markets.
Economic governance will require focused effort, demanding results, strategic approaches and clever steering over situations.
Institutional governance needs to eliminate poor public service delivery, weak project, program design, inadequate monitoring and evaluation, lack of coordination among government agencies and poor reform-orientation of government officials.
Fifth recommendation was to improve public service delivery through pilot initiatives. Government needs to carry out some pilot cases for reforming the delivery of key public services. The pilots will demonstrate political will and will have a strong signaling effect. An institutional home will provide technical, regulatory and policy support and drive the process.
Case pilots could include a public hospital, a rural government school or clinic, an institution like the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) or a public body like a city corporation, or even a single Ministry of the government.
Sixth recommendation was improving quality-at-entry by making project design more rigorous. Projects must go through a rigorous selection process based on economic criterias like Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR), Economic Internal Rate of Return (EIRR), and environmental, social and poverty impact assessments.
The project feasibility studies should be based on a logical framework that clearly states the expected outcomes and impact of the project, and the project deliverables needed to achieve these.
Seventh recommendation was to ask stakeholders whether projects are delivering quality. A system of regular collection of beneficiary feedback should be introduced, using digital technologies where appropriate. The youth may be engaged in conducting such exercises.
The taskforce has also suggested for improving coordination within government agencies like BIDA, National Board of Revenue, Ministry of commerce and Bangladesh Bank. They have asked for promoting investment, Mobilizing domestic resources, diversifying exports and maintain macroeconomic stability of the country.
Experts have also suggested to stimulate mid-level officers, create cohorts of reformers within the bureaucracy through courses on private sector development (PSD) issues and formation of ‘PSD Reformer Groups’ at the mid-levels of government, PSD Reformer Group Alumni Program.
They have suggested for institutional governance adopting the Singaporean approach to governance by thinking carefully about expected impact when designing projects, investing in mid-level officers to build them as the policy makers of tomorrow. The Government needs to ensure good coordination across government agencies, have effective mechanisms to dialogue with stakeholders and get feedback on projects and correct courses if needed. Lastly experts suggested to refine good practices by learning from pilot initiatives.
The session five titled ‘Education, Youth Unemployment and Youth Development’ emphasized on universal education system adaptation for restructuring the divided education system of Bangladesh.
As the current education system is incorporating discrimination, division and inequality.
During the session five, special guests were Lamiya Morshed, Chief Coordinator of SDG Affairs, Chief Advisor’s Office, Interim Government of Bangladesh, Nasreen Afroz,Executive Chairman (Secretary),National Skills Development Authority.
Guests of Honour were Barrister Rumeen Farhana, Former Member of Parliament, Dr Mohammad Kamrul Ahsan, Vice Chancellor, Jahangirnagar University, Professor ASM Amanullah Vice Chancellor, National University Bangladesh.
Distinguished Discussants were Dr Manzoor Ahmed, Emeritus Professor, BRAC University, Umama Fatema, Coordinator, Anti-Discrimination Student Movement while the session was chaired by Rasheda K Choudhury, Member, CPD Board of Trustees, Former Advisor to the Caretaker Government and Executive Director, CAMPE.
Keynote was presented by Dr Rumana Huque, Member, Task Force on Re-Strategising the Economy and A K M Fahim Mashroor, Member, Task Force on Re-Strategising the Economy.
Session six was titled ‘Social Inequality and Poverty Alleviation’ where the Chief Guest was Sharmeen Murshid, Advisor, Ministry of Social Welfare and Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, Interim Government of Bangladesh. Distinguished Discussants were Dr Imran Matin, Executive Director, BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), Dr Maleka Banu, General Secretary Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, Barrister Sara Hossain, Executive Director, Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST), Dr Kazi Mahmudur Rahman, Professor and Researcher, Independent University, Bangladesh, Taslima Akter Lima, Member of the Commission on Labour Rights while Moderator was Dr Monzur Hossain, Member, Task Force on Re-Strategising the Economy.
Keynote Presentations were made by Dr Mohammad A Razzaque, Member, Task Force on Re-Strategising the Economy and Dr Selim Raihan, Member, Task Force on Re-Strategising the Economy.
Session seven was titled ‘Macroeconomic Policy and Governance in the Banking Sector’ Special Guest was Dr Ahsan H. Mansur, Governor, Bangladesh Bank, Guests of Honour were Abdul Awal Mintoo, Chairman, National Bank, Dr Md. Habibur Rahman, Deputy Governor, Bangladesh Bank.
During the session distinguished discussants were Syed Mahbubur Rahman, Managing Director & CEO, Mutual Trust Bank Ltd., Mohammed Nurul Amin, Chairman, Global Islami Bank PLC, Former Chairman, Association of Bankers, Bangladesh Limited (ABB), Dr Md Main Uddin, Professor and former Chairman, Department of Banking and Insurance, University of Dhaka, Dr Toufic Ahmad Choudhury, Director General, Bangladesh Academy for Securities Markets (BASM). The session was chaired by Professor Mustafizur Rahman, Distinguished Fellow, CPD while keynote presenters were Dr Fahmida Khatun, Member, Task Force on Re-Strategising the Economy and Dr Monzur Hossain, Member, Task Force on Re-Strategising the Economy.
The closing session was titled ‘Institutional Governance and Way Forward’ where special guests were Professor Lutfey Siddiqi, Special Envoy on International Affairs to Chief Adviser, Interim Government of Bangladesh, Professor Rehman Sobhan, Chairman, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Zonayed Saki, Kendrio Shomonnyok,Gonosamhati Andolon, Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan,Member, National Standing Committee, Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
During the session guests of honour were Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury, Chairman, Public Administration Reform Commission, Professor Rounaq Jahan, Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Dr Iftekharuzzaman, Chair, Anti-corruption Commission Executive Director, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), and the session was chaired by Dr K A S Murshid, Chairman, Task Force on Re-Strategising the Economy.
To promote equality, prosperity, and good governance, a Task Force on Re-strategising the Economy and Mobilizing Resources for Equitable and Sustainable Development was formed, bringing together experts from different sectors. The Task Force was tasked with identifying immediate, short-term, and long-term actionable measures.
The conference was attended by high level policy makers, political leaders, government officials, academics, development practitioners, civil society members, development partners, and journalists to contribute to the deliberation at various sessions.
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